Three Major Plans From The Constitutional Convention

The first plan that impacted the creation of the Constitution is The Virginia or Randolph,
Plan. This plan was written by James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, but was
presented to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 by Edmund Jennings Randolph. This plan
will favor large states with many people because this plan was originally based on its population
or wealth. According to Donna Batten, the author of Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, this
plan created bicameral legislature in which the legislatures are divided into two chambers and it
also gave Congress the power to enforce all cases that states are not competent (423). The
national executive will have power to execute the National laws and veto legislation (108). Since
this plan divided the powers of the government into three branches; executive branch, legislative
branch, and judicial branch, there is a separate judiciary and interpreter of laws. The relationship
between national and state governments is that national government have more powers but run
by both.
The second plan is The New Jersey Plan. It was written by William Patterson as an
alternative to Virginia plan. Unlike Virginia plan which is the large state proposition based on
population, the New Jersey plan demanded that each state have one vote in congress and it
wasnt based on population (446). Therefore, this plan benefits smaller states because the
representation for all states would more equal for the two houses of Congress; House of
Representatives and the Senate. Under this plan, Congress would have additional powers to tax
and regulate commerce. Congress would also have the power to select an executive council, to
raise funds via tariffs, the authority to collect taxes and count with the Three-Fifths Rule for a
slave (Stanley 379). Executive would have the power to appoint the federal judiciary so, there is
a separate Judiciary and interpreter of laws. Unlike the Virginia plan, In this plan, the federal

state government have power to override any state laws because they are the supreme law of the
land.
Lastly, the third plan is Connecticut or Great Compromise. It was proposed by Roger
Sherman, a jurist and politician, along with Oliver Ellsworth as an agreement/settlement to both
plans above. Under this plan, it was almost like a mixed of both plans where the legislature
would be bicameral; one house with equal representation, the other based off of population (110).
The larger states wanted to be based proportionally while the smaller wanted equal
representation. This plan also included the Three-Fifths Rule compromise where every five
slaves would be counted as three. Therefore, this benefited both large and small states. Executive
would have the head of the nation power. Overall, there is a separate judiciary and interpreter of
laws and every state has equal representation

Chicago Citations
"Ellsworth, Oliver." Gale Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Donna Batten. 3rd ed. Vol.
4. Detroit: Gale, 2010. 126-127. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2015.

Kelly, Alfred H. "Constitution of the United States." Dictionary of American History. Ed.
Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 378-383. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2015.
"Origins of U.S. Government: The Virginia, or Randolph, Plan." Gale Encyclopedia of
American Law. Ed. Donna Batten. 3rd ed. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 107-109. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2015.
Robertson, David Brian. "Great Compromise." Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Ed. David S. Tanenhaus. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 359.
Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2015
Whitfield, Theodore M. "Connecticut Compromise." Dictionary of American History. Ed.
Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 359. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2015.